Articles

Serving God in Spirit and in Truth

By Lawrence Yaw Berko, Montreal, Quebec

 John 4:24 says “God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” Yet the world is increasingly getting people to compromise with true/spiritual worship. How then can one serve God in spirit and truth in this world of evil?

There are many instances of people in the Bible like Esther, Daniel, and Joseph who stood firm in trying moments without compromising their faith. Joseph, while in the house of Potiphar, had all the chances to defile himself with Potiphar’s wife yet he chose not to saying “how can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). In spite of all the temptations he went through, Joseph worshiped God in spirit and in truth.

True worship is giving honor and reverence to our Creator. It is not confined to public places. Even in secret places we must learn to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth such as Joseph did. Whatever we do for God must come out of a pure heart, without complaining, boasting, seeking personal gain or trying to please others.

We need to worship God in spirit and truth because He is an awesome God. Joshua knew how awesome God is and said “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ” (Joshua 24:15). We must worship God because he loads us with benefits and fills our mouth with good things. Psalms 103:2 says “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits”. When we consider the good things the Lord does for us, we should worship him at all cost.

We must worship him with all our heart, soul, mind, and body because he is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. He is our creator and the sole duty of man is to worship God our creator. We must serve no other god apart from him. Ecclesiastes 12:13b says “Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” We must not come to God only when we are in need.

If we will worship God in spirit and truth we will always have testimonies which will draw people to the light we have seen and they will give their lives to Christ. Goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. If we serve God in spirit and truth at work, school and wherever we may be, others will turn from evil to Christ through us.

source: Pentecost Herald, February 2003